How Body Shape Changes Your Approach

For the pear-shaped Slim Thick woman, Romanian deadlifts and leg curls with consistent progressive overload are what create the definition you want.

For the hourglass-shaped Slim Thick woman, prioritize hip-hinge movements — Romanian deadlifts and good mornings — for primary hamstring work.

For the rectangle-shaped Slim Thick woman, both hip-hinge and leg curl movements are equally important for creating lower body roundness your natural shape does not emphasize.

Best Exercises

Romanian deadlifts are the foundational hamstring exercise. Barbell at hip height, push your hips back while lowering the bar along your thighs with your back flat, feel a deep hamstring stretch at the bottom, drive your hips forward to standing. The bar never touches the floor between reps. Eight to ten reps with progressive loading, add weight each week.

Lying leg curls develop the hamstrings through knee flexion — a function Romanian deadlifts do not fully address. Lie face down, place the pad against your ankles, curl your heels toward your glutes with control. Do not let your hips lift off the pad. Control the lowering over two to three seconds — this is where most of the muscle-building stimulus occurs. Three sets of 10 to 12 reps.

Nordic hamstring curls are the most demanding hamstring exercise. Kneel with feet anchored behind you. Lower your torso toward the floor by extending your knees, resisting the fall with your hamstrings as long as possible. Start with just the lowering phase and build from there.

Single-leg Romanian deadlifts develop unilateral hamstring strength and expose imbalances between sides. Stand on one leg, hold a dumbbell in the opposite hand, hinge forward at the hip while your free leg extends behind you, return to standing.

Programming

Train hamstrings directly twice per week. Each session: one hip-hinge exercise, one knee-flexion exercise. Three to four working sets each. Control the eccentric — lower over two to three seconds on every rep. Progressive overload every one to two weeks. With adequate protein — 130 to 155 grams per day — measurable development in six to eight weeks. Read the High Protein Diet guide for Slim Thick women for exactly how to hit those targets. Read the Slim Thick Glutes guide alongside this — your glutes and hamstrings function as a unit.

I train clients in person in Houston, Texas and online through XPL. Take the XPL Archetype Quiz or visit xperformancelab.com/plans-pricing to work with me directly.

The standards behind the standards. — Xavier Savage, XPL Xesthetic Performance Labs, Houston, TX